Case Study: Cardiac Implant Concept Phase

A well-funded venture-backed cardiac products company needed to begin development of a next generation device and procedure, but lacked the internal resources.

AlvaMed brought in a team of 5 engineers who completed the concept phase in just 4 months. The AlvaMed team worked through all phases from initial brainstorming, through design and prototyping to in-vivo testing, and documented the phase to help the client move forward with the project.  AlvaMed’s highly experienced engineers visited with cardiac surgeons and interventionists to evaluate the current procedure, identify user needs for an improved procedure and report back to the client.  A brainstorm, integrated with client engineers and AlvaMed engineers, produced over 50 concepts.  The best concepts were selected, represented in drawings and analyzed in a design strategy matrix.  AlvaMed recommendations were presented to the client, and concepts were selected for proof of concept work.  Prototypes were fabricated and successfully tested in ex-vivo animal hearts.

The client learned that a next generation product was possible, and that the procedure could be improved and performance targets could be met, in a timely and cost effective manner.
 

 Ellen Golds
 Vice-President
 Product Development
 & Project Management